Tag: Trump corrupts all those around him

Michigan Republican fundraised at DeVos family home — while trying to downplay financial ties

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Michigan Republican Senate candidate John James attended a fundraiser at the home of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ brother-in-law while trying to downplay the financial help his campaign has received from the family.

James attended a fundraiser at the home of DeVos’ brother-in-law, Dan, and his wife, Pamella, last month. Though James was well-distanced from the crowd, none of the attendees appeared to be wearing masks, according to a photo published by former Allegan County Republican Party Chairman Kevin Whiteford to Facebook.

James has extensive ties to the DeVos family, which has poured money into his race against Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich. His campaign recently hired Betsy DeVos’ niece, and his wife has worked at the DeVos family’s Amway empire for years. Members of the DeVos family have directly donated tens of thousands to his campaign. Continue reading.

DHS awarded $6 million in contracts to firm where Acting Secretary Wolf’s wife is executive

A Homeland Security spokesperson said Wolf was unaware of the contracts until contacted by the media. Wolf’s Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — The consulting firm where the wife of acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf is an executive has been awarded more than $6 million in contracts from the Department of Homeland Security since September 2018, according to records on the federal government website USA Spending.

Wolf became chief of staff at the Transportation Security Administration, a DHS agency, in 2017 and chief of staff to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in 2018. He took over as acting secretary in November and has been nominated to become secretary. His confirmation hearing before the Senate is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday,

Wolf’s wife, Hope Wolf, is vice president of professional staff operations at Berkeley Research Group, a consulting firm. Although the company has a long history of federal contracts, it did not do work for DHS until after Wolf became the TSA’s chief of staff in 2017. Continue reading.

Legal experts are disturbed by Bill Barr reported push to bring sedition charges

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A new report from the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday found that Attorney General Bill Barr has been pressuring federal prosecutors to bring aggressive charges against violent protesters across the United States, a push that some experts fear could have the effect of chilling constitutionally protected free speech.

The report explained:

In a conference call with U.S. attorneys across the country last week, Mr. Barr warned that sometimes violent demonstrations across the U.S. could worsen as the November presidential election approaches. He encouraged the prosecutors to seek a number federal charges, including under a rarely used sedition law, even when state charges could apply, the people said.

This demonstrates that Barr seeks to use the heavy hand of the federal government against the protests. It’s notable that while President Donald Trump and the attorney general have been clearly outraged by violence that has emerged from the protests — the vast majority of which have been peaceful — the federal government has done little to address the actual substance of the demands for racial justice from protesters. Continue reading.

Appeals court seems wary of ordering dismissal of Flynn case

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court in Washington appeared inclined Tuesday to let a judge decide on his own whether to grant the Justice Department’s request to dismiss the criminal case against former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Many members of the court expressed repeated skepticism at arguments from the Justice Department and Flynn’s attorneys that a judge was not empowered to probe the motives behind the government’s decision to abandon the prosecution of Flynn, who pleaded guilty as part of the special counsel’s Russia investigation to lying to the FBI.

The nearly four hours of arguments were the latest step in a long-running legal saga that has prompted an extraordinary power struggle between the executive and judicial branches. The case will almost certainly persist for months if the court rejects Flynn’s efforts to get a speedy dismissal and returns it to U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who refused to immediately grant the department’s request to drop the prosecution. Continue reading.